James Potter and the Best Friends Ever Year 1
by Hermione Granger1
Summary: *NO LONGER UPDATED* This is a story of when James and Lily were at Hogwarts before Harry was born. Please r/r.
1. The More Than Wonderful News

Chapter 1  
The More Than Wonderful News  
  
"Mum! Dad! It came! Just now! It's here! It's here!" James Potter yelled holding up and envelope.  
  
"Calm down, James," his mother said. "What's here?"  
  
"My Hogwarts letter. I'm in! When can we go get my stuff? I've got to get my owl in soon," James said. He was pacing around the kitchen of his house.  
  
"Hold on there, son!" his father said beaming at him. "Just wait a second. I'll send your owl to Hogwarts fist thing. You and your mother can go to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get your school things."  
  
"Yes!" James said running out of the kitchen. His mother and father didn't say anything. They just smiled after him.  
  


* * *  


That same day Lily Clark was greeted by an owl that had an envelope for her. She grabbed it eagerly and looked inside. She read the letter quickly.  
  
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwamp, International Confed. of Wizards)  
  
Dear Ms. Clark,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been excepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.  
Yours sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress  
  
UNIFORM  
First-year students will require:  
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)  
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags  
  
  
COURSE BOOKS  
All students should have a copy of each of the following:  
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)  
by Miranda Goshawk  
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot  
Magical Theory bye Adalbert Waffling  
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguring by Emeric Switch  
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi  
by Phyllida Spore  
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger  
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them  
by Newt Scamander  
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection  
by Quentin Trimble  
  
OTHER EQUIPTMENT  
1 wand  
1cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
1 set of glass or crystal phials  
1 telescope  
1 set of brass scales  
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad  
  
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS  
  
Lily ran downstairs immediately to tell her parents of the good news.  
  
"Mother! Father!" she yelled.   
  
"What is it, Lily?" asked her mother. She stood up when Lily came in with the envelope.  
  
"I've been excepted for a school for witches and wizards!" she squealed. Her mother looked like she was going to faint and her sister, Petunia, just gaped at her. Her father was just as shocked but beamed at her.  
  
"Let me see the letter," he said quickly. "Our Lily is going to be a witch!" he cried with joy and hugged her. "I've never heard of such a thing. Well you and your mother will have to get your things tomorrow morning."  
  
"Humph," Petunia said and stormed off. Lily was too excited to care, though.  
  


* * *  


  
The next day James was so excited that he got up really early and was ready by 7:00. He went downstairs to find his mother making some coffee with her wand.  
  
"When can we leave?" he asked eagerly when she looked up at him.  
  
"Well you'll have to give me a chance to get ready, but we can leave soon."  
  
"Thanks, Mum," he said hugging her quickly.  
By 8:00 his mother was ready. James stood by their fireplace while his mother got some floo powder. James had his Hogwarts letter with him to make sure that he wouldn't forget anything. His mother handed him some floo powder and he threw it in.  
  
"Diagon Alley!" he said and he was rushing off. Next thing he knew he was standing in Diagon Alley followed by his mother.  
  


* * *  


  
Lily too awoke early to go to Diagon Alley with her mother. Her mum was already awake and ready to go. She knew how much this meant to Lily. She had no idea how they were going to get to this Diagon Alley place but she agreed to it anyway. She of course wanted her daughter to be happy.  
  
"I'm ready Mum," Lily said holding her letter.  
  
"Alright then," her mother said. "We're going to the.. Leaky Cauldron you said?" her mother asked. Lily nodded. "I have no idea where that is."  
  
"Well it's in London but I think but I'm not really sure how to get to Diagon Alley itself but we can ask someone when we get there," continued Lily. Her mother nodded and they left in the car.  
  


* * *  


  
Meanwhile, James and his mother had already bought his books, cauldron, telescope, scales, phials, and all they had to get now was his robes and wand. They went into a shop called Ollivanders and a man (who James assumed was Mr. Ollivander) came and greeted them. "Katherin? Katherin Skenshaw? I haven't seen you since you were in here yourself getting a wand! 9 inches, beechwood, flexible, one dragon heartstring?" he asked James's mother.  
  
"Of course, Mr. Ollivander. You never forget! I'm here because my son James here needs to get a wand," she said nodding down to James.  
  
"Excellent!" he said. "Follow me, please." They followed him to the back and he told James to stand up on the chair. "Try this one first. 13 and a half inches, flexible, 2 unicorn hair," he said handing James the wand. James wove it around but nothing happened. Mr. Ollivander snatched it up again and handed him a different wand. "11 inches, mahogany, pliable, one unicorn hair. Wonderful for transfiguration." James wove this one around and some sparks came out. He was very pleased. "Very nice!" Mr. Ollivander said beaming at him. "You were a very easy customer," he said leading them back up front. Mrs. Potter paid him and they set off for Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions with James's new wand.  
  


* * *  


  
Lily and her mother had found the Leaky Cauldron and were now asking the man behind the counter how to get into Diagon Alley. "Well allow me. You need a wand to get in. Remember this. Tap the third brick up second one across three times and it will open up into Diagon Alley's archway," he said leading them out back. He did just as he had said and Lily and her mother stepped back in shock as a large archway appeared.   
"Good luck in Hogwarts," the man said before going back inside.  
  
"Thank you," Lily murmured. They entered and set off for a place that was labeled the   
bank. While they were there they changed some of Mrs. Clark's Muggle money into wizard money and set up a vault for Lily. Then they went to buy everything. They went to the bookstore Flourish and Blotts first. There were some other people there, too. Some looked about Lily's age all the was up to about 16 or 17. She bought all of the books she needed and decided to go and get her robes next. When they walked in she saw two boys that looked her age getting measured, too.  
  


* * *  


  
As James was being measured for his new robes a beautiful girl with red hair and dazzling green eyes walked in with her mother. Her mother said something to Madam Malkins, and the girl stepped up onto a footstool next to him.  
  
"Hi," she said in a sweet voice, "I'm Lily Clark," she replied to James and the boy next to him.  
  
"I'm James Potter," he said trying to stay calm. All of a sudden he was very fidgety.  
  
"I'm Severus Snape," said the boy next to James.  
  
"Here you are," said the lady handing Severus his robes. He paid for them and turned back to Lily and James before he left.  
  
"We'll see each other at the train, then," he said mostly to Lily but they both nodded and said goodbye.  
  
"So," James said his voice shaking slightly, "what house d'you want to be in? I guess I want Gryffindor or Ravenclaw."  
  
"I'm sorry but I don't know what you mean," she said and James turned to look at her.   
  
"I'm the only witch in my family."  
  
"Oh so your mum and dad are Muggles?" James said without thinking. Then when Lily gave him a strange look he explained. "A Muggle is someone without magical powers."  
  
"Yes. My sister is a...Muggle, too. She's furious I'm a witch. I think she's a little jealous," she said flashing him a great smile. He smiled back. Just then Madam Malkins handed him his new robes.  
  
"There you are," she said to him and he got down off his footstool.  
  
"So maybe we could talk again on the train?" he said and she nodded and waved goodbye. James had never felt this way before. He liked that girl Lily so much.  
  


* * *  


  
Lily stared after James after he left. I like him Lily thought. Maybe we'll be friends. She got her robes, cloak, and hat and went off to try and find her mother. She found her marveling at some of the Quidditch supplies.  
  
"Broomsticks?" she whispered as Lily approached her. "A sport played of broomsticks?" she said a little more loudly.  
  
"Yes, Mum. Now can we go get my wand please?" she asked pulling her mother toward the shop called Ollivanders.   
  


* * *  


  
As Severus Snape left the robe shop he couldn't help thinking how much he disliked that James Potter. He would definitely be one of those Gryffindor showoffs. But Lily Clark was the prettiest and nicest girl he had met in his life. He wanted her to like him as much as he liked her. He was going to make her like him if it was the last thing he ever did.  
  


* * *  


  
Lily continued through the shops until she had everything she needed for Hogwarts. She a had new wand that was 10 ¼ inches, swishy, willow, with a dragon heart string. Mr. Ollivander told her that it was wonderful for charm work. She and her mother thanked him then left the store.  
  


* * *  


  
James and his mother returned to the Leaky Cauldron so that the could use their fire. James couldn't wait until term started. He wanted to learn how to do magic, and meet some other people. He also wanted to talk to Lily some more.  
  
"James, come on dear," his mother said dragging him into the green flames. In no time he was rushing home happily.  
When he got home he went upstairs and put all of his things into a trunk that was in his room. When he went back downstairs his father said, "So, James. Like the new trunk?" James nodded. "Did you meet any other first years at Diagon Alley?"  
  
James nodded again. "Lily Clark and Severus Snape. Lily's real nice but I don't like Severus much," James said but his father wasn't really listening.  
  
"Snape, Snape. I know that name from somewhere. Oh, yes. Those Snapes are nothin' but trouble. He's a born Slytherin, James. You're gonna want to stay away from him!" his father said seriously.  
  
"Martin! Don't tell him not to make friends!" his mother said shrilly.  
  
"I'm just givin' him some well deserved advice," said his father and James went back upstairs. James already knew that Snape was trouble. He could feel it.  
  
  



	2. To Hogwarts at Last!

Chapter 2  
To Hogwarts at Last!  
  
Lily was so excited on September 1st that she woke up real early and got dressed as fast as she could. She did some last minute checking to make sure that she hadn't forgotten anything. She looked at the barn owl her mother had bought her as a gift. Now her mother was as proud of her as her father. They loved the idea of having a witch in the family.  
  
WWhen Lily went down for breakfast she saw that Petunia was already awake. "That foul creature of yours kept me up half the night!" she spat as soon as she saw Lily.  
  
"He's great! You're just sensitive to any sound." Actually Comet (that's what she decided to call him) kept her up as well. But he was a good owl just the same.  
  
"Humph," said Petunia and she left the room. Her mother came down shortly after.  
  
"All ready for Hogwarts, Lily?" she asked positively beaming at her.  
  
"I think I've got everything I need. I'm going to change on the train. In the envelope with my letter was a ticket. But the strange thing is that the platform that the Hogwarts Express comes into is called Platform nine and three quarters!" Lily said a little worriedly.  
  
"Don't worry so, Lily. We'll find out how to get there," said her mother trying to comfort her. "Petunia, dear, are you coming with us?" she called to Petunia.  
  
"I'm not if that abnormal thing is going!" she yelled down the stairs.  
  
"She's talking about me," Lily said when she saw the confusion on her mother's face.  
  
"Petunia, that's very rude!" her mother called back angrily. Petunia said no more. "Well, that's just unexseptable. I'm sorry for her behav.."  
  
"It's fine, Mother. She's just jealous because i'm going to a school where they teach us magic!" she squealed happily.  
  
Her mother's smile returned. "Alright, dear. Put your trunk it the car and let's be off!" said her mother. Lily nodded and ran upstairs to get her trunk.  
  


* * *  


  
James was also nervous. He knew he'd learn magic quick enough, but there was still a worry inside of him that he couldn't comfort. But he was so excited! He woke about the same hour Lily did and was so happy to find that his mother and father were already awake and waiting downstairs. When he came into the living room his father beamed at him.  
  
"All ready for Hogwarts, son?" he asked him.  
  
"I think so. I'll go check and make sure I didn't forget anything," he said quickly and was about to leave.  
  
"Hold on there! Just a second. Your mother and I have a little surprise for you. It's just a good luck present. We only want the best for you. Besides! We want you to tell us everything that happens at good olla' Hogwarts," he said and pulled out a screech owl. It hooted softly. James was so surprised.  
  
"He's all mine?!" he asked a look of shocked pleasure on his face.  
  
"Yep," said his father beaming once more.  
  
"Thanks Dad! Mum!" he said hugging them both.  
  
"Now, James! Hurry and get your trunk we're leaving as soon as your all ready, okay?"  
  
"Oh, I'm ready now! Let's go!" he said jumping up and down.  
  
"Do you need any help with your trunk, son?" asked his father.  
  
"No, I can get it on my own, dad." James ran out of the room, and his father smiled after him. It was obvious that he was very proud that his son was going to Hogwarts. He knew that he had potential, and could grow up to be one of the greatest wizards ever. But he had to finish his first year before any of that happened.  
  


* * *  


  
Lily arrived at King's Cross about and hour later. She drug her trunk out, and her mother got her owl for her. They approached platforms nine and ten looking around. There was definitely no platform nine and three quarters. "Any idea how to get onto the platform yet, Mum?" she asked her mother.  
  
"No, dear. Not yet." But just then she saw a woman and her son. Her son rolled his trolley toward the barrier right in between platforms nine and ten. But then...he was gone! He had just disappeared. Lily looked over and saw a girl who might be in her fifth year do the same. She and her mother walked over to the woman who had the son.  
  
"Excuse me," said her mother to the woman. She had a very kind looking face. "How do you get to platform nine and three quarters?"  
  
"Oh, so your born of Muggle parentage?" she asked Lily and Lily nodded. Her mother looked very confused. "Well, dear you just go right up to the barrier, don't worry about crashing into it, and you'll go straight through!" she said smiling. "By the way, I'm Marticia Black. I've got a son who's starting this year. Is this your first year, too?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am," said Lily politely.  
  
"Well, I'll come with you through the barrier. I'm sure my son Sirius wouldn't mind helping with your trunk onto the train."  
  
"Thank you," Lily said and they set of toward the barrier. Lily was nervous they were getting closer....closer still....they were going to crash! She shut her eyes tight but they never crashed. She looked up and saw that the sign said nine and three quarters on it.  
  
"Now this is my son Sirius. Sirius, this is...oh, I'm sorry I didn't get your name."  
  
"I'm Julie Clark and this my daughter Lily," said Lily's mum.  
  
"Hello, Lily," Sirius said politely.  
  
"Hello," she said. She was always a little shy about meeting people.  
  
"Mum, I'd better get on the train. We're due to leave any minute now," said Sirius looking at his mother.  
  
"Alright, dear," she said kissing him. "Have a good term. Would you mind helping Lily with her trunk?" He shook his head and picked up her trunk. Lily's mother handed her her owl and kissed her goodbye. Lily followed Sirius onto the train. He stopped to talk to someone and asked her to go find a compartment fairly empty. She went into the first one and saw James and another boy talking. When she opened the door they looked up at her.  
  
"May I sit here?" she asked her shyness coming back.  
  
"Of course!" said James smiling. "I'm James as you may remember and this is Remus Lupin" he said pointing to the boy next to him. He had dark hair, pale skin, and large bags under his eyes. He looked extremely tired as though he hadn't slept in days.   
  
"Oh, and another person is coming to." But just as she said this Sirius came back with Lily's trunk along with his own.  
  
"I'm Sirius Black," he said to James and Remus.  
  
"I'm James Potter."  
  
"Remus Lupin."  
He nodded putting his and Lily's trunk up into the compartment overhead.  
  


* * *  


  
After James and Remus had gotten to talking (he met him when he first got onto the train) Lily came in and stayed with them. Also another boy by the name of Sirius Black came along and stayed with them. Lily looked beautiful as always. But as soon as they made the announcement that the train was about to start their compartment door slid open again.  
  
"Mind if we stay a while?" asked the girl in the front. There were two other girls behind her.  
  
"Not at all," said Lily and moved over to make room for the three girls. "I'm Lily Clark, this is James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black."  
  
"I'm Melissa Gumtree and this is Gloria Chinker and Jennifer Johnson," said the girl who was in the front.  
  
  


* * *  


  
Severus heard the announcement that they were about to start. He had checked every compartment for Lily. Finally he came to the last one. He slid open the door and saw James Potter, two other boys, Lily, and three other girls.  
  
"Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full," he said. He knew this was a lie but he didn't care.  
  
"Yeah, come on in," said the boy next to James. The other boy looked very tired and pale. "I'm Sirius Black."  
  
"Remus Lupin," said Remus with a sigh. "This is James.." he started.  
  
"Yes, I had the er.. pleasure of meeting him in the robe shop. Along with Lily," said Severus smiling at Lily. He hated to say that it was a pleasure but he couldn't say anything mean to him in front of Lily and the other girls there.  
  
"I'm Jennifer Johnson."  
  
"Gloria Chinker."  
  
"So you guys play any Quidditch? I do. I'm hoping to get on the team next year," said James to Sirius and Remus. The girls started their own conversation on the other side of the compartment.  
  
"Some," said Sirius and Remus nodded in agreement. Severus was just thinking about leaving when James addressed him.  
  
"So, Severus, what house do you want?" Severus thought fast. He already knew what house he was going to be in. His parents knew it from the day he was born: Slytherin. But he didn't want to say that because Lily and the other girls were now looking at him, too.  
  
"Well, I guess any of them would be okay. Except maybe Hufflepuff or something," he said smoothly. None of them noticed a thing.  
  
"I think I want Gryffindor," said Sirius and all of the rest nodded. Except Lily.  
  
"What're the houses?" she asked curiously. Severus was shocked. She came from a Muggle family! Usually he would sneer at the stinking Mudblood but he would never sneer at Lily.  
  
"There are four," explained James just as Severus was going to explain. "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. They say that Gryffindor is for the brave ones, Ravenclaw for the smart ones, Hufflepuff for the shy and considerate ones, and Slytherin is usually the evil ones. They almost all turn out to be Dark Wizards." Severus had to bite down on his tongue hard not to say anything. If they knew he was going to be a Slytherin they wouldn't talk to him. He didn't really care except for Lily. She might be offended. He would never want to offend Lily Clark.  
  


* * *  


  
As James was explaining the houses to Lily he took a quick glance at Snape. He had no idea why he was sitting with them. He knew that he didn't like him. As he said Slytherins were evil and turned out to be Dark Wizards he saw Snape's face go real ridged like he was biting his tongue. He is biting his tongue! James thought.  
They talked happily the rest of the way. Severus stayed strangely quiet though like he didn't want to say the wrong thing.   
  
Finally they pulled into Hogsmeade station. They were told to leave their trunks on the train and to leave the train. They all filed out talking excitedly. They walked up to the big castle and a huge giant directed them towards the lake. They all got into boats. It was Sirius, Remus, James, and another boy in the boat. They all introduced themselves, and he turned out to be named Peter Pettigrew. They were all very nervous but excited. Once across the lake they were herded inside by a small lady with a tight bun and stern face.  
  
After a little while they were lead into a huge hall, and all of the students were already there waiting for them to arrive. Someone brought out a three-legged stool and set a very dirty old hat on it. The Sorting Hat. James's father had told him all about it even though his mother told him not to. He was going to put it on and it would tell him what house he was in.  
  
The first two people stepped up and were placed. Then "Black, Sirius!" was called. He put the hat on and was put into Gryffindor quickly. The Gloria Chinker was made the second Gryffindor. A couple more people. Lily Clark was up.  
  


* * *  


  
"Hm, let's see now," the hat said in her ear. "You're a very nice girl, suitable for Hufflepuff. Smart, too! Suitable for Ravenclaw. But you've got you've got a good amount of courage here. Hm, anywhere but Slytherin. So you'll be GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted. Lily was so relieved. She went and flopped down into a seat next to Gloria. They watched as more people were up. After Lily a boy was made Ravenclaw then Melissa was a Gryffindor. Jennifer was the same, too. A few more people. Lily was trying to keep track of where the different people went. Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff... Up next was Remus. He put the hat on. Everyone remained silent a few seconds. Then the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" He came and sat down with the new first years. The line went fairly quickly. Seven more people were up and then "Pettigrew, Peter!" whom Remus had met on the boat was put into Gryffindor. Right after him was, "Potter, James!"  
  


* * *  


  
As he stepped up, his legs shaking uncontrobably, he put the hat on and waited. "Oh, there's so much talent here! Wow! You're very easy like that Black boy. GRYFFINDOR!" James sighed and sat down next to Sirius.  
  
"Did the hat say you were easy to place?" he whispered to him.  
  
"Yes, how did you know?" he asked looking a little shocked.  
  
"It said, 'You're easy to place like that Black boy'," he said and they both laughed. He liked Sirius a lot. He hoped that they would become best friends.   
James had missed the people after him, and now "Snape, Severus!" was being called up. James had an idea what house he would be in. He could just feel it.  
  
"SLYTHERIN!" the hat yelled. James smirked a little bit. His father was right, they're all Slytherins. Lily gasped.  
  
"But he was so nice on the train!"  
  
"I think that was just an act," Sirius said and James nodded in agreement. After the Sorting was finished, and they had eaten, they followed the Gryffindor prefect up to a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress.  
  
"Halembuster," the prefect said and the portrait swung forward. They all went up to the dormitories and climbed into the bed that had their trunk at the end. He saw that he was sharing his dormitory with Remus, Sirius, and Peter. I love Hogwarts already James thought as he drifted to sleep.   
  
  
A/N: _Sry this is the boring part but i assure u there will be adventures AND Quidditch coming up soon!  
~*hermione*~_  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. The Forbidden Forest Adventure

_A/N: I just wanted to apologize to everyone that keeps up with the story. I know it took me a very long time to get this up but i was on an 8 day vacation then i went to the beach for four days over labor day weekend so I'm every so sorry! please read and review I've been have a writer's block on both of my stories and this isn't exactly how i wanted it to turn out but it's okay i guess. you tell me what u think of it. thanx again to all of you who have read, reviewed and supported me!  
~*hermione*~_  
  
  
Chapter 3  
The Forbidden Forest Adventure  
  
The next morning James awoke and when he pulled back the hangings around his bed he saw Sirius who said, "Morning. I'm going down to breakfast. They're supposed to be handing out course schedules today. Want to come?"  
  
"Sure!" said James scrambling out of bed. He was very eager to start learning magic. "Let me get dressed and get my stuff real quick." Sirius waited patiently until James picked up his bag filled with his stuff and walked to the door.  
  
As they went down the staircase to the common room they saw that Remus, Peter, Lily, and Melissa were already awake and headed for the door. When they saw them the slowed and waited for them to catch up.  
  
"We wondered if you were ever going to get up," Remus said to James with a smile. "I hear that we get to start having flying lessons today," he said changing the subject.  
  
"Awesome!" said Sirius. "I've only flew a couple of times but it was so much fun!"  
  
"My dad let me ride his broomstick and play a little Quidditch when I was 7. I've been taking his broom out to a field near my house ever since. Next year I'm going to try out for the Quidditch team. I like Seeker and Chaser," said James eagerly. He knew, but didn't add, that he was a superb flyer and couldn't wait to fly again. Sirius nodded in agreement vigorously.  
  
"I've never even seen anyone fly let alone do it myself," said Lily rather nervously. "I hope I don't embarrass myself in front of everyone there."  
  
"Don't worry," said Melissa. "Loads of kids come from Muggle families. Besides I'm not very good. I've only ridden once with my older brother and sister but I almost broke my neck, so they wouldn't let me play anymore," she said laughing.  
  
"Well, I'm starving so let's go get some breakfast," said James. He wasn't really that hungry. He was just very eager to get to classes.  
  
They walked down the Great Hall laughing because they got lost twice and Peter had stepped in a stair that seemed to be made of quicksand. When they entered they saw the enchanted ceiling that they had seen last night, but now it was blue and sunny with a few fluffy clouds. Everyone was sitting at their house tables eating and talking about what would happen that year. The four of them walked past the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins to join Gloria Chinker and Jennifer Johnson at the Gryffindor table.   
  
"We were wondering where you guys were. They just announced that the prefects are going to be handing out schedules soon," said Jennifer. James wasn't really listening to what they were talking about as he piled bacon, toast, eggs, and pancakes onto his plate. He picked up his goblet of orange juice and looked at Sirius who was telling Remus and Peter something.  
  
"...so then he hit this Bludger at Coner right as he was about to score. Then he did this loop-the-loop thing, missed the Bludger, shot, and scored!" James knew that he was talking about the Quidditch Cup that had taken place in Egypt. His father had to go for business, because he worked in the Magical Games and Sports department for the Ministry of Magic, but James was unable to go with him. His father did buy him some souvenirs and told him exactly what happened.  
Just then he handed Sirius a bunch of papers. He handed them out to Lily, James, Remus, Jennifer, Peter, Gloria, and Melissa.  
  
"We have Transfiguration first with the Hufflepuffs and then......arg! Flying with the Slytherins. Just our luck," said Sirius angrily.  
  
"Well, we might as well leave now. Who know how long it will take us to find the Transfiguration classroom," said Jennifer with a small sigh. They all nodded and headed toward the door. As James got up he saw Severus Snape look over at them and follow.  
  
A quarter of and hour later, with the help of 3 teachers and Nearly Headless Nick the Gryffindor ghost, they reached the classroom. It was medium sized room with about thirty desks in rows like any normal Muggle classroom would have. As his eyes moved toward the desk at the front of the room he saw the short teacher with the graying hair and tight bun that had led them into the sorting.  
When she saw them she looked up and said, "Come to the front and look at the seating chart. Then take your seat." They all went forward and looked. James turned his head slightly and saw Snape craning over them trying to see as well. Once he saw where he was sitting he moved over to a desk. Sirius and Gloria followed and sat down next to them. After a few minutes a Hufflepuff came to their table and introduced herself as Sharia Miknal. Gloria and Sharia became instant friends which was good for Sirius and James who discussed the upcoming flying lesson until the teacher cleared her voice and everyone became quiet.  
  
"I am Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, and Transfiguration teacher. Transfiguration is a very difficult field of magic and it will take years to master." All of a sudden there was a small pop and there was an orange tabby cat that had the markings of Professor McGonagall's glasses around its eyes. With another pop Professor McGonagall was back to regular form. The whole class started talking in excited whispers to each other.  
  
"Did you see that?"  
  
"Amazing!"  
  
"When can we start?!"  
  
"But first, you must take some extensive notes. You will not be doing human Transfiguration until you sixth year," she continued and a lot of people groaned. The next twenty minutes they copied down many pages full of notes. She explained how to think it in your mind to how to move your wand the right way.  
  
It seemed like forever until she said, "Okay, it's your turn. You will try to turn you match into a needle before the end of class," and she handed out matches.   
  
By the end of class only Sirius and James's had really turned into matches. Lily and another Gryffindors turned silver as did a couple of Hufflepuffs. No one really thought this was much fun anymore except for those who had made progress. Professor McGonagall awarded five points to James and Sirius and one to each Lily and the other Gryffindor. Hufflepuff also received two. When she said, "Class dismissed," almost all of the Gryffindors packed their bags hurriedly and left the room at a slight jog.  
The Gryffindors headed for the Entrance Hall to go to the Quidditch field while the Hufflepuffs went to the dungeons for Potions with the Ravenclaws.  
  
As they neared, most of the smiles on their faces left and turned to glares as they spotted the waiting Slytherins.   
  
"I'm Madam Hooch. I referee the Quidditch games and teach flying here," said a lady who was medium height with short gray hair, and eyes that looked strangely yellow. "Hurry up! Grab a broom!"  
  
Everyone scrambled over to get a broom and James went over to stand next to Sirius and Remus. "Now put your hand over the broom and say, 'UP!'" she instructed. Everyone did so. James flew into his hand and Sirius's did on his second try. A few others were also holding their brooms looking triumphant when others just gave up and picked theirs up off the ground. "Okay, now swing your leg over the broom and kick off the ground, hard. But only go a few feet. When you're ready."  
  
James flew a few feet up immediately followed shortly by Sirius. He did a couple of loop-the-loops and then just enjoyed the feeling of flying by circling the class a couple of times.  
  
"Hey, Potter!" someone yelled. He looked down and saw Severus Snape's arm fly forward. A couple of people gasped. James thought fast. He pulled his broom back about ten feet, and the rock that was in the air lost a lot of speed. It started to fall downward and James sped after it. Just as he was about to hit the ground he caught it quickly and moved upward. All of the Gryffindors clapped and sniggered at Snape. That'll show him James thought. When he came back down Remus, Sirius, and Pettigrew congratulated him.  
  
"That was great!" Sirius yelled jumping up and down. "Did you see the look on his face! He was so embarrassed. Nice flying too, James." James just beamed.  
  


* * *  


  
_Dear Diary,  
Today at our first flying lesson Severus Snape threw a rock at James to try and make him look stupid! He could have been hurt! But then James dodged it and dove after it, dangerously I might add, to make Severus look bad. Everyone is trying to impress everyone. It's all so confusing. Why can't everyone just be themselves and be happy with it? Anyway, I've got to send an owl home to Mother. She'll be worried about me.  
Lily_  
  


* * *  


  
As James walked upstairs after a nice dinner, talking and laughing with Remus and Sirius, he noticed something lying on his bed with his family owl next to it. He ran over and took the note off of the barn owl. Meanwhile Sirius and Remus marveled over it.  
  
_Dear James,  
I thought you might like to have this. I had it when I was at Hogwarts. It's called and Invisibility Cloak. Use it well, son.  
Dad_  
  
"Oh my gosh! Is this what I think it is?" Sirius asked but James took it out of his hands. He had heard of these before. All he knew was that they were rare and valuable. He stepped in front of the mirror and covered his arm. They all laughed. James now had only one arm!  
  
"James! That things the answer to all of our problems!" Sirius whooped. "No getting caught! Ever! We should go try it out tonight. Explore the castle a little bit."  
  
"I'm in," said James.  
  
"I need some sleep, I haven't been feeling too well. You guys go on without me," said Remus. He knew that if he didn't have any sleep tonight tomorrow night's transformation would be even harder.  
  
"Well, what about tomorrow night?" asked Sirius. "We don't want to go without you."  
  
"No really, it's fine," said Remus and they all dressed for bed. James and Sirius talked in a whisper to keep each other awake. When Sirius's clock read 12:00 they jumped out of bed and went to get the cloak.  
  
As they went through the portrait hole completely invisible the Fat Lady cried out in terror, "Who's there?" she wailed. After James and Sirius were out of sight though she calmed down thinking that she had just been accidentally pushed open. James and Sirius noted that they would usually need someone to open the portrait for them in the future.  
  
Sirius immediately wanted to check the third floor which was off limits to students and everyone wondered why. James thought that this might be a good time to learn the castle, though. He did promise that they would check out the third floor.  
  
They wandered soundlessly through the halls not really knowing exactly where they were until they reached the Transfiguration classroom. They went past it and somehow found themselves standing in the middle of the Entrance Hall.  
  
"Oh, James! Let's go into the Forbidden Forest! That place sounds so cool and there's no way that we can get into any trouble while we're invisible," he squealed excitedly.  
  
"Okay," said James a wave of excitement flowing over him as they pushed the doors open as quietly as they could. They headed across the grounds at a slight run and into the forest.   
  
They wandered through the thick trees and strange looking shrubs for at least fifteen minutes when they decided to take the cloak off. Nobody would ever see them as they were too deep into the forest. They walked another fifteen minutes and everything started to get strangely wilder and all of the insects were such ones that they had never seen in their life. There were huge spiders, they thought they saw a unicorn, and other things that could not identify.  
  
Then they were standing in front of a huge cave. They nodded at each other and entered it very slowly and cautiously. They heard lots of clicking noises and saw many eyes! Then a gruff voice spoke to them.  
  
"Hagrid? Is that you?" James answer quietly his voice quivering more every second.  
  
"No, we know Hagrid though. We're students." There was a moments silence and the clicking seemed to grow louder. Something stepped into the moonlight that was shining into the cave. It was a spider that was at least fifteen feet tall. Other spiders, though not as large, circled around them clicking excitedly.  
  
"I am Aragog and you will soon be no more. My children have grown hungry and were about to find some Gombles to eat but humans are so much more tasty. Thank you for giving them such a good meal." As he said this all of the other spiders around them moved closer. James only just noticed, for he was to scared, that Sirius was gripping his arm with all of his might. "Goodbye students."  
  
"Wait!" someone yelled. "Aragog, yeh can't let 'em eat these kids," Hagrid panted running towards them.  
  
"Hagrid!" said Aragog cheerfully but them he looked like he might have been frowning. He clicked a few times before answering again. "Why are you depriving my children of this fine meal that has stumbled our way?"  
  
"They're students!" he said and before he could say anymore Aragog said-  
  
"So we've heard."  
  
"Dumbledore'll probably kick yeh out if yeh eat students. I'll just take 'em back to the castle and bring yeh some food out tomorrow."  
  
"Fine," he said clicking furiously and all of the other spiders backed off slowly and reluctantly. Sirius finally let go of James's arm. Hagrid grabbed both of them quickly and started pulling them out of the forest.  
  
"What do yeh think yer doin' out here at this hour o' the night?" Hagrid said ferociously.  
  
"How did you know we were out here?" Sirius said in a dazed sort of voice as though he still couldn't believe they were alive and unharmed.  
  
"Well, Fang started barkin an' a saw the trees part to the entrance o' the forest so I followed yeh an' saw that yeh had an Invisibility Cloak. I'm takin yeh straight to Dumbledore." But then he stopped dead in his tracks. James and Sirius looked at him and he seemed to be thinking very hard about the decision he just made. "Well...." maybe he said slowly, "maybe we can wait till morning. I don' want to wake up Professor Dumbledore at this hour o' the night. Yeh two go back to yer common room. I'll come and fetch yeh in the morning before breakfast to see him so yeh best be up and ready."  
  
They left the forest, and James and Sirius ran back up to the Entrance Hall talking about what they saw and what happened.  
  
"It could have been worse," said James. "Dumbledore's fair. We'll probably just get a couple of detentions." They laughed carelessly until they were stopped.  
  
"Out for a midnight stroll, eh?" said someone and the mystery person stepped out of the shadows. It was Filch. James's stomach turned over. How could they be so stupid as to forget to put on the Invisibility Cloak he was holding. Filch saw it and looked shocked. But then he smiled a very evil smile and beckoned them to follow him. How could it get any worse? James thought. But yet again it did.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
